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Barred Owlets



Hi folks,

Many young Barred Owls are coming into the world these days, at least in
Mecklenburg County, NC. We have one ambitious pair that are the parents of
branchers that have been out of the nest about a week. I suppose that we
should not be surprised as this was the pair that copulated(nearly every
single time)immediately after appearing in response to our audiolure back in
January. Two days ago, we found one young that was approximately a week old,
and two more in another nest that were between 2 and 3 weeks old. Sometimes
owlets of the latter age get into trouble as they try to leave the nest
before they are capable of sustained flight. Being on or near the ground for
even a couple of days, is risky business. As one can imagine, this is likely
to be even more true in suburbia where roadways, feral cats and dogs, and
not-too-well-informed people are generally present and adequate under- and
midstory vegetation is often lacking. 

We have started tracking our tagged birds, and some of the early locations
are,..well let's just say "quite interesting". I observed one owl hunting
right in the middle of an apartment complex in an area devoid of ground
cover and having only a few scattered trees. In another instance, a bird was
found scoping out an artificial pool that perhaps contained goldfish, a BDOW
delicacy. At present, it isn't too difficult to see birds as the new leaves
aren't quite out enough to hide them. Often I can approach a bird within 10
meters and if it is perched high relative to me, it will usually just sit
there and stare. Its great to have a fairly sedentary species for
observation purposes, at least when you're a researcher.

Eric Harrold
Charlotte, NC